Open: Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 1804 MST Temperature: 75°F

Session: 2025 Conditions: Clear

Equipment:
12" f/8 LX600 w/StarLock
2" 24mm UWA eyepiece
Focal reducer

Camera:
D850 DSLR
iPhone 15 Pro Max

Prepared the D850 DSLR for imaging later.

1815 MST: LX600 ON, StarLock OFF, High Precision ON.

Viewed the planet Venus, 102X.

1824 MST: Viewed Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS (C/2023 A3), 102X. Coma and a short tail were visible.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on the star Altair, locked the telescope mirror, and slewed back to the comet.

1835 MST: StarLock ON.

1842 MST: Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, StarLock autoguided, 30 seconds, ISO 4000.

1844 MST: StarLock OFF.

Removed the camera from the 12" telescope and mounted the 24mm eyepiece.

1848 MST: Viewed the comet again, 102X. View of the comet's tail was nice.

1855 MST: Began observing (or tried to) more Barnard Objects (dark nebulae), 102X: B326, B131a, B132, B327, B328, B133, B134, B329, B135, B136, B137, B138, and B139.

1921 MST: I could see the comet, naked eye. A long tail was faintly visible to the eye.

1927 MST: Handheld iPhone 15 Pro Max photo (Night Mode, 10 seconds, 1X lens) of the Milky Way, Cassiopeia Observatory, and Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS.

Mounted the D850 DSLR at prime focus + focal reducer, focused on Altair, locked the mirror, and slewed to the first Barnard Object to be imaged this night.

1938 MST: StarLock ON.

Barnard Objects (dark nebulae), StarLock autoguided, 30 seconds, ISO 6400.

2009 MST: StarLock OFF.

2015 MST: LX600 OFF.

2019 MST: Viewed Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS, 12x50 binoculars. The tail was visible across the entire 4.6° field-of-view.

Close: Wednesday, 23 October 2024, 2029 MST Temperature: 69°F

Session Length: 2h 25m Conditions: Clear

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